Life Under Coronavirus: Week Five

Day 29

The highlight of the day was when his pre-school teacher dropped off a care package to him. We had signed up for this but didn’t know when it arrived. It had a workbook that he could work on his letters and another one with stickers, a stuffed animal duck, candy and two plastic Easter eggs. We played with Easter eggs for a while since he thought they were fun to throw back and forth.

It was really nice that the teachers at the pre-school did this for the students. We had been outside when they drove by. I wasn’t sure who they were at first when the car pulled by the driveway but immediately recognized her when she got out. She asked how Drew was doing and he said he had gotten a superhero game recently and she told him he missed him and he said the same and then they both waved to each other as they headed off. It was a sweet moment for the day.

He was actually pretty fussy today. This was a day it was too cold to be outside which didn’t help. The week is going to be a chilly one and after this week we should hit some warmer weather. Being trapped inside during a cold snap in April is not fun for any of us. David and I both took some short walks today though.

I put him to bed that night and read The Pout-Pout Fish book to him, which is about fish that is glum and spreads the “dreary wearies” until his destiny changes by a chance meeting. I didn’t know about this book until a long-ago storytime when he was just a baby.

He wanted a hug and a kiss on his forehead then he fell to sleep. David and I watched the series finale of Modern Family, which began about the time we got married. The kids in the show have really grown up since it began. It was all about changes and some about becoming empty nesters. We still have thirteen years before, so quite a few years ago.

Day 30

We worked on the alphabet workbook he received from his teacher. The first three pages involved the upper and lower case version of ABC. This involved tracing the letters, and them finding them among other letters. He would become frustrated with the upper case letter A since he kept wanting to make it with a half-circle. I explained to him in needed to be triangular and to think of the two sides coming from one point at the top. We worked on this and he got better at it.

David had found Star Wars coloring sheets online. He colored some All Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT Walkers) and then R2-D2 and C3PO. We cut them out so he could play with them.

David went to play with him outside. Andrew batted the ball a few times. David said he is getting good at connecting with the ball from his pitches. If this was a normal summer we might have put on a team or a YMCA class, but nothing is available with the coronavirus.

David put him to sleep tonight and read to him, we take turns back and forth. This was a relatively easy day with Andrew. Nice when he does not spend any time in timeout.

Day 31

I worked with Andrew on the letters D and E today. He became a little frustrated in making the lowercase e. We worked on it and then he liked doing the maze that he followed the letter e through. He likes to do it in his room and I think it is good that we’re doing in a space that he is comfortable with.

The day was cool but sunny and I coaxed him out of the house to do a bike ride together. We headed for the nearby park where you can ride in it, but not play on the playground. At one point on the way to the park, there was guy sweeping the sidewalk and Andrew waited on him before heading down the hill. He wanted a clear path, which I thought was good for him.

We looked at the pine needles of tree and I pointed out that way on time some pinecones still held on and said these are part of the seeds of the tree.

On the way back I saw a goose close to the lakeshore and behind the log. I told him the goose is probably nesting there since its spring. She either has little ones underneath her or eggs. The father goose was in the water watching us closely as we went by.

Dinner that night was my turn to play chef. I sprinkled lots of cheese on chips and added some shredded chicken. I made us chicken nachos. I had some lettuce and olives with mine, but he just wanted it without vegetables. I am not really the cook in the couple but have put more of my limited skills to making simple meals like this. I should have done more of this when David was coming home from work instead of ordering out so much. I think at the end of this we probably won’t eat out as much. I mean we are really getting used to the idea of just eating at home now.

I saw a note the other day we’re not doing home school so much as homeschooling while we’re in a crisis. I think that sums this life better. We are doing our best, but nothing is going to be perfect or as it should be right now.

There was nothing in the child-rearing books that would have prepared for this. Or at least I didn’t see the chapter on homeschooling during a pandemic and what to do and not to do.

This is a crisis period and until they find a vaccine this is the way things will be for a while.

Day 32

Andrew was in bed with us again during the night. He had snuck in the middle of the night. He has been doing that more lately, maybe the interruption in his life of not going to school and what he terms germs (the coronavirus) might be affecting him a bit. Also, we spend a lot of time together now. I think when school starts up again he’ll be better. It is an odd time for us al.

After breakfast, I read a Star Wars book, which was about the character of Fen from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

After reading the book he wanted to make spaceships with our Legos. The ones we had you had to use your imagination since they are not from a box set. This was fun for me since I enjoyed doing this as a kid and these were mine from when I was Andrew’s age.

After some epic space battles, David played with him while I went out and mowed the lawn with the new mower. I am still getting the hang of it, but it went better today. It was going to rain tonight so I wanted to get it done before the grass grew higher and it became wet.

In the afternoon we took a bicycle ride. He wanted to go into a new direction and we headed down a large hill to where the lake turns into the creek. I also wanted to check it out since sometimes I take the kayak down in the narrow channel. I usually like to see how far I can go. It looked like downed limbs blocked the creek again.

I had placed my hands on the side of the bridge railing and my husband told me to clean them when I got home and don’t touch anything. I was not thinking about the virus and other people touching the railing. I do need to think about this more when we are out and about.

Andrew helping to make kelp chips. — Andrew helping to make kale chips.

Dinner that night was turkey, cranberries, nut loaf, and some kale chips. Andrew helped David with the kale chips. David bought a salad spinner a little while back and Andrew but the kale leaves in there and then he spun it around. Andrew also gave it a few whirls. This dried the kale chips and then he could spice them and then cook them. Andrew likes it and it adds to a vegetable that we can all eat.

We watched a few episodes during dinner of The Connors before bedtime. I am catching up on the second season. The first episode dealt with a preemie baby that Becky had and then the second episode dealt with the boy in the show having kissed another middle schoolboy. I am not sure if Andrew realized the subject matter but I at least thought it was good for him to realize that it is OK for two kids that age to kiss each other and being that we are two gay dads who do this from time to time.

Day 33

Putting the last few pieces of the puzzle together.

We worked on his dinosaur puzzle. We had started it the other day and finished it that morning. He actually completed most of it himself with me just adding a few pieces.

I noticed we had some storebought cookie mix up in the cabinets, the chocolate chips, both dark and white, along with the flour and sugar were already mixed together in a mason jar. All we had to do together was add ¾ cup of melted butter, an egg, a teaspoon of vanilla and whip to smooth in one bowl. Then in another bowl, I dumped the ingredients then I brought them together. I noticed that it was not becoming doughy. I think the ingredients in the jar had hardened so I added extra butter, which did the trick. I am not really a baker so I was happy that I figured this out on my own.

Creating bat chocolate chip cookies. — Creating bat chocolate chip cookies

Andrew was looking through the drawers and found some bat cookie cutters and wanted to use them. David who had come upon us said the dough was too soft so we put in the freezer to harden to help with putting into shape. We did one round of this and it turned out OK. Then we did the rest without a cookie cutter. It was a fun project to do together and kept us busy making a treat.

Dinner that night was quite the ordeal. We wanted to order out on a Friday, which turned out to be a bad idea.

We were unable to call them, but David found out you could order online through a website called ChowNow. So we placed the order and it went through. I received an email receipt and that the next email would be one showing the pickup time. It took a while before that one came through. The email showed it would be two hours. That seemed a very long time. We tried to cancel it but couldn’t find a way online.

I headed to the restaurant to have them do it. They were swamped. I waited a bit and saw a server doing the curbside pickup, which is one of the ways restaurants stay open during coronavirus and told him about the issue. He said he would check with his manager. I waited a bit longer then he said they were still checking. I waited a bit longer. I noticed that I had been there for over 40 minutes and then decided that I could wait for the rest of the time and get it at the hour later.

I told David what happened and drove around town. I noticed that other restaurants had long lines. A pizza place had a line through the parking lot for picking up pizza. A fast food place had a line around the restaurant and out to the road. I drove down the other main road and saw the same thing for other restaurants and fast food places. A few are not as popular such as Captain D’s or Hardee’s. I guess this is the new normal.

After driving around a bit I came back to the restaurant for a bit. I told the guy that I was ready for dinner at the designated time. He said he would get back to me. I was not sure what that meant. I waited some more and then he said he was checking in again. I decided after another 20 minutes that this was just too crazy. I asked him to have the manager figure out a way to cancel the order.

I headed home and David sent them an email about the problem. They responded quickly and said the App had been the issue. They had promised them that there would be no problems and it was not the case. They had over 75 orders all at once and it was chaos it seemed. They are a nice local business and like everything else, this new normal is not always easy. The restaurant refunded us our money and we have a $30 credit for next time. I had some quiet time to myself while I was trying to pick up so it was not all bad, just not the way I wanted to spend my quiet time.

I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chips. At this point, I just wanted something to eat that was fast. Andrew wanted the same so we had a simple dinner.

I put him to bed that night and we read a Marvel Black Panther book and then he fell asleep.

Day 34

We went outside for a bit and took a short walk. We went in the back and we used our binoculars again to see what was across the field. Today we spotted a cat, some geese and then I pointed out some ducks. There were baby ducks with the mama and they were running all about. They are quite energetic the little ones were for the mama, going everywhere and about. She had her hands full it looked like.

That afternoon we decided to take the boat out on the lake. It was a warm sunny day. There was still a cool breeze so it was not a shorts day but I wore a sweater and jeans and Andrew wore his life vest along with a jacket. Later he became warm with the jacket and he decided that wrapping a beach town around him when there was cool breeze worked better. We looked out for blue herons skimming the lake. Down near the dam, a shoreline was filled with turtles heading out of hibernation and warming up for summer. I had never seen so many in one place. The trees are now beginning to green and then others are flowering some white, pink and red. It is pretty out and almost clears your mind from the virus.

When we headed back David began to make dinner. He was grilling burgers and hotdogs and making a cucumber salad. It was a very tasty meal that we could eat outside on the deck.

Day 35

David made lox and bagels for lunch today. It was at least something different from what we’ve been having. He took a walk while Andrew and I played with the Power Rangers. We cut these out and play with these like they are paper superheroes. It is actually been a good idea, something different to play with. We’ve done superheroes, Star Wars, and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

We were out on our deck and I noticed some hawks swooping around. I told Andrew to come out and see them. I noticed one come down and catch something and brought it to the field next to the house. It might have been a mouse I think or a mole it was small. He kept the other hawk away and ate whatever it was. Then he and the other hawk flew up and then a crow kept fighting with the hawks. We have some crows that live in the area. They must like them hunting here and they might have a nest. The hawks eventually moved on. The drama above us was something to follow.

After lunch, I went out on the kayak by myself. It was blu- sky day with occasional clouds and a cool wind, but the sun really warmed things up. There were quite a few boats out today. I watched as turtles jumped into the water along the shore and tried not to disturb the people fishing near the rocks.

When I got back I told David that it would probably be even warmer later in the afternoon. We had thought about boating tomorrow, but there was a slight chance of a thunderstorm which is never good to be on the lake then because of lightening. He also found out that friends of ours would be out so we decided to have an early dinner on the boat. He had made hotdogs earlier in the week so they were already cooked. Andrew also liked that idea.

We headed out on the pontoon boat and met up with our friends, of course, we didn’t tie up together since we are supposed to stay six feet apart. They seemed to be holding up OK. It was nice to see others and talk about life. They thought it was crazy with the protesters, too. They are risking their lives and others being out like that. None of us understood it.

Another couple also came by and we chatted with them. It was nice to be outside of the house for a while on the lake even if you have to keep everybody at a distance.

I read a local author book tonight to him about and adventuring pig and his encounter with a bear. Andrew brings out three books and I pick one a night. I might not be reading this book much longer, he’s going to want more plot as he gets older I think. It is still a cute book to me though.